Spiritual Direction

"A spiritual director devotes her/himself to assisting others deepen their relationship with and devotion to God, often exploring questions like: Who is God? How can I discern God's voice? How will I be transformed as I grow in relationship with God? Whereas counseling focuses on restoring broken relationships, improving one's self-worth, and helping individuals become functional, spiritual direction concentrates on a person's dynamic relationship with God."

"Spiritual direction, an ancient ministry of the church, is a relationship in which one person assists another, or others, in attending to God’s presence and call. Spiritual direction has been, and remains, particularly strong within Roman Catholic and Orthodox religious orders, and over the past twenty years Anglican and Protestant traditions have begun to recover it more fully. There is also growing interest in spiritual direction among other faith traditions, such as Judaism and Buddhism. Throughout Christian history, spiritual direction has traditionally been practiced by ordained clergy alone. In recent years, however, this practice has widened to embrace the spiritual gifts of non-ordained persons as well. Today, spiritual direction is regarded as a ministry open to all, not an order or office reserved for the few." (Presbyterian Church, USA)

"Spiritual theology has to do with living the Christian life instead of thinking about it.... The counseling movement, even within the church, became heavily psychologized and became almost exclusively therapeutic, so what people were dealing with were problems. If you had a problem you went to a counselor. But spiritual direction in a sense doesn't begin with a problem. Spiritual direction deals much more out of health and an identity of Christian holiness, so I think it's an obvious response to the failure to transcend." (Excerpted from a 1995 interview of Eugene H. Peterson, Evangelical, Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).

"The greatest teacher is silence. To come out of interior silence and to practice its radiance, its love, its concern for others, its submission to God's will, its trust in God even in tragic situations is the fruit of living from your inmost center, from the contemplative space within. The signs of coming from this space are a peace that is rarely upset by events, other people and our reactions to them, and a calm that is a stabilizing force in whatever environment you may be in. God gives us everything we need to be happy in the present moment, no matter what the evidence to the contrary may be. A good spiritual director helps us to sustain that trust. " (Father Thomas Keating, Summer 1997, Part II lecture notes)

"Spiritual direction is, in reality, nothing more than a way of leading us to see and obey the real Director — the Holy Spirit hidden in the depths of our soul. "(Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, USA)


I first learned about spiritual direction from Dr. Priscsilla Pope-Levison, one of my favorite theology profs while at SPU. She often told me about the spritual director she had for many years while living in Chicago. While preparing for the discernment pilgrimmage I took to Iona, Scotland, I met Margie Van Duzer, who currently works at SPU, is a member of my church, and is also a spiritual director.
I've been meeting with Margie for spiritual directon on a semi-regular basis since this past fall. We meet in the quiet, sunlit room off her kitchen that she reserves as sacred space for silence, solitude, and prayer. Our times together normally begin by discussing what has been going on in my life - if anything has been bothering me, where I think I may need guidance or direction, etc. Margie comes up with some of the most profound - yet simple - questions: "Where do you see God in the midst of this right now? Do you even see God right now? Is God near or far at this moment? Can you feel God's love for you?" We'll often stop in the middle of a discussion and pray in silence and listen for God's voice. And then we'll pray together and discuss some more. It's actually quite casual and comfortable, and I've experienced the Holy Spirit's presence in some very powerful ways through spiritual direction. I especially love that I am not walking this this path alone, and that I have someone like Margie who is able to take my hand and walk closely once in awhile.

May everyone be blessed with a Margie Van Duzer.



Margie Van Duzer
SPU Chaplain/Spiritual Director
Campus Ministries
Bio:

Margie grew up in Santa Cruz, California where she loved the beach and the Beatles. After the Beatles broke up, Margie devoted her high school days to some of the first ever environmental campaigns to save the beach. Moving on to UC Berkeley, in search of her surfer guy, she met Jeff instead. Graduating with a degree in Psychology, Margie and Jeff married and moved to New Haven (which has no beach worth saving). Margie completed her Masters degree at Yale Divinity School and began working on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Returning to the West Coast in 1980, and joining the Christian community at Bethany Presbyterian Church, she began exploring the ministry of spiritual direction. Margie now regularly meets with men and women of all ages to prayerfully look for God’s presence in their lives. It is one of her very favorite things in life. Since coming to Seattle, Margie’s three favorite moments were the birth of her first son, Andrew; the birth of her second son, Nate; and the 1995 Mariners Game 5 victory over the Yankees.